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It’s “spring training” until indoor dining reopens
New York City recently postponed plans for indoor dining, citing the rising cases of COVID-19 in other parts of the country where bars and restaurants are being asked to shut down again. Until dining rooms can safely open, Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group will be using three venues — Marta, Intersect by Lexus, and the Union Square Events catering kitchen — to prepare meals to be distributed in the South Bronx through ReThink Food’s Restaurant Response Program.
Meyer says the community meals are to get employees used to the kitchen again before business reopens. “We really want to activate our kitchens,” he told NRN. “I don’t want to start from a crouch position. This is our version of spring training.” Brookfield Properties, which is partnering with USHG on the project, chose the South Bronx because — deep sigh — they are building the borough’s most expensive development there. “We chose to focus on the South Bronx because, first, it has been particularly hard hit by COVID-19, but also because the Bankside project is there, and it’s one of the largest private investments undertaken in the neighborhood,” said a Brookfield spokesperson. In case you thought this was just about charity!
And in other news...
- According to new research, four out of 10 Black and Hispanic families are struggling to access food, compared to two out of 10 white families. The numbers are still nearly double what they were before the pandemic. [Politico]
- Miami closes restaurants as area hospitals meet capacity. [AP]
- There is now a Taco Bell lit mag. [Salon]
- Pizza Hut’s largest franchisee, which runs over 1,200 locations, is filing for bankruptcy. [Hypebeast]
- A Philly bar owner pulled a gun on a Black man who complained that nobody in the outdoor seating was social distancing. [NYPost]
- The bleak reality of the supply chain that bought you your July 4 meal. [BuzzFeed News]
